Act 1: Scene 9

1 Day Remaining

Morning


Mihara took a deep breath as he watched the hazy morning light filter slowly through the kitchen window, his body slouched over the dining table.

Slowly straightening up his body, he stared at his Terminal on the table, the holographic Interface hovering above it. Closer to him he saw the brown pot of tea he had prepared before, faint wafts of smoke rising slowly from it, and the ceramic cup next to it.

"Five days down, huh?" He muttered, noting the 'day' counter clearly displayed on the top-right hand corner of his Interface.

'That's right.' He thought, picking up the cup before him and drinking the heated brew with a flinch, the haze covering his eyes slowly dissipating. 'Today is the last day of preparation, and tomorrow is the day where… where… I…'

"Where we all kill each other." He said out aloud, as though trying to convince himself as he let out a deep sigh. Biting his lip he craned his neck to look up at the holographic Interface hovering over the dining table, the profile of his opponents and their Servants displayed clearly. "Despite staying up every night for the past week, I'm still not fully prepared for this, am I?"

'Today, I need to try and make full use of the day.' He thought, stretching his fingers to touch the floating screen. 'But, what else can I do? I've explored all the basics that I can get my hands on, and there's nothing else here in this Terminal that I can find. Well, other than how I'm supposed to bring up my Interface without using my Terminal first…'

The Interface's screen flipped to the Librarian NPC's program viewing the Second Floor Arena, the four ships, the hidden paths, as well as all the Item Folders clearly visible.

"What else can we do today?" He asked as he watched the screen, rotating it on occasion as though he could find his answer in its layout. "Well, for that matter, I don't know where the actual 'Coliseum Fight' is supposed to be held: In there or on a different place entirely?"

As he bit his lip he continued fiddling with his Interface mindlessly, unable to do anything else until his Servants woke up and they could start the day.

'Well, at least I have my Triggers.' He mused after a while, his eyes drifting to the two cards hanging at the corner of his Interface. 'Cipher Keys Alpha and Beta, huh? That, and I also got Taiga's Tangerines as well. What does she wants these garden-variety fruits for anyway?'

"Actually, for that matter why didn't she go down to town and buy some herself?!" He grumbled, letting himself get side-tracked again. "That cheapskate teacher, ugh… At least Saber and Caster seem happy. Though, with my lacklustre preparations I doubt they'll be able to enjoy them for much more than a day."

"Do you truly believe everything that can be done, has been done?" A familiar voice asked, the seated Master turning his body around to meet the gaze of his Servant, standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Saber." He said, gesturing to the free space at the table. "Well, we've gotten both of our Triggers, so we won't be getting disqualified right off the bat first."

"That in itself is a good thing." She nodded, stepping forward and sitting down at the table, her Master pouring a cup of tea for her. "It is but a pity that our foe has had enough presence of mind to collect his own Triggers as well. I would have preferred it if we did not share a Coliseum fight with them. With that said, what is your own evaluation for our state of preparedness in other fields?"

"I'm… not sure, really." He said slowly, a derisive smile crossing his face. "I mean, at the end of the day I'm the weak link in our team, but, well, there's only so much improvements one can make within a week from zero." He released a sigh before continuing.

"I just hope that I won't be dead weight for you and Caster when the fight arrives."

"Oh, please Master, don't think like that!" Another voice said, Mihara turned around to look at the entrance to the kitchen once again. "You're not dead weight at all, and anyone who actually says so needs to get their eyes changed!"

"Good morning, Caster." He greeted her with a wry smile. "Well, I only wish I could be as confident about that as you."

"Well at the end of the day we're supposed to be the ones beating them up anyway." Caster said, sitting down at the table as well, another hot cup of tea quickly placed before her. "Just as long as we get enough data for more Alterations we'll be A-okay!"

"Well, I'll try to meet those expectations as best as I can." Mihara said, looking up to the floating hologram of the Arena still hovering above the table and bathing the room in its neon-blue light.

"And so, what is our plan of action for the day then, Mihara?" Saber asked, holding out her cup for a refill.

"I'll need to return to Taiga and give her the Tangerines she asked from me." He said, refilling both his Servant's cups. "Then, well, I suppose we can head straight to the Arena for practice, since there isn't much time left for us and to get more data for Alterations of the Soul."

"A wise decision." Saber nodded. "We had best undergo another Alteration from that Aozaki woman before tomorrow's Performance."

"Yeah, give me a little bit to reconfigure my Terminal a bit before we head out…" His voice trailed away as his gaze locked onto the holographic map of the Arena.

"Mihara, is something the matter?" Caster asked.

"Yeah… do either of you see something happening to the Arena?" He asked, standing up to get a closer look.

"Hmm, now that you mention it there seems to be something flickering across the whole place." The foxgirl said. "Maybe that NPC didn't manage to fully work out all the problems in it yet?"

'A flicker?' He thought, turning over Caster's comments before shaking his head.

"No, I spent a little while looking at it this morning and I didn't see any problems like this before."

"Indeed, it appears that most of this 'flickering' is concentrated on the position of the Item Folders scattered throughout the Arena." Saber said. "Something might be happening to the Arena today. With this new knowledge we would do well to exercise caution. We know not of what is happening now."

"Yeah, you're right Saber." Mihara nodded in agreement. "But, well, I can't really afford to skip out on today's 'training' as it were… I'll spend time trying to find out what's happening to the Arena before we head out. Maybe I can find out what's going on, or something a little bit more useful."


Afternoon


"Now, where could she be?" Mihara asked as he moved across the School Courtyard, his eyes looking around for an NPC clad in green.

Though he had spent about an hour attempting to analyse what was happening within the Arena, his search was fruitless. Eventually he gave up in favour of configuring his Interface in preparation for his 'intensive training' on the frontlines that evening. And once that was done, he set off to the School Grounds alongside his Servants.

"Well considering how hyperactive that woman was the last few times we've met her you probably won't need to search for very long." Caster said, her form invisible as usual.

"Honestly though, I should consider trying to finish off her requests earlier, rather than waiting for the final day to take care of it." He sighed as he finished speaking, before noticing someone coming out of the School's Archer Range.

"Yahoo! Mihara!" Taiga Fujimura shouted from across the courtyard, waving her hands energetically.

"Looks like we didn't need to go searching for her huh?" He said, glancing at the handful of Masters observing him as Taiga approached.

"Mihara! I hope you've brought some good news for me!" She said as she reached him, a distinct sparkle in her eyes.

"Fortunately, I do." He answered, bringing out his Terminal as he activated it, the box of citrus fruits appearing at their feet.

"Wow, you sure managed to get a lot Mihara!" She said, peering into the box.

"I'm still surprised that the SERAPH puts things like this in the Arena though." He shrugged as he deactivated his Interface.

"Anyway, thank you sooo much for getting this for me!" She continued, a hand digging into her pocket before fishing out a small, rectangular black chip. "And, as promised, here's the decoration for your Private Residence, be sure not to lose it now, alright?"

"If I did I wouldn't hear the end of it from my Servants." He muttered as his hands accepted the offered item and inserted it into his Terminal. "Still, thank you for this Ms. Fujimura."

"Don't worry about it." She replied with a large smile. "I said I'd give you something in return after all, didn't I? Oh, but I might ask you for more help in the future though, so keep your ears peeled, alright? Of course I'll make sure to reward you properly afterwards."

"Well if I have the time in the future I should be able to help." He answered.

"Good then." She nodded energetically. "Well, since I've got these fruits with me now I should hurry along and see if I can make that sigil I wanted…"

"Sigil?"

"Oh, whoops, don't mind me!" She said, cutting him off before leaning down to the box of fruits and touching it lightly, a flurry of white pixels engulfing it as it disappeared. "Anyway, good luck in this round then, Mihara! It'd be a shame for such a good student of mine to get killed so quickly."

"Please show some concern, instead of saying it so calmly." He commented dryly after she had left.

"We urgently need to deal with that mindset of yours, Praetor." Saber answered. "The NPCs do not grieve over the dead after all."

"It isn't easy getting used to this." He shook his head before looking around, and seeing a familiar face.

"Wait, that's… Manaka, isn't it?"

It was easy to pick her out from the throng of Masters going to and from the main building, her head of shoulder-length blonde hair and aqua-blue dress helping her stand out even more. Evidently, she seemed to be heading for the school gym – the Arena entrance.

"Oya?" Caster asked, following her Master's gaze. "The little girl isn't with her boyfriend anymore? And here I thought they wouldn't be able to continue living if they weren't together in a five metre radius."

"They aren't that bad, Caster." He replied.

"She brings up a valid point though." Saber said. "We could care less about her, but her consort's whereabouts is an issue more relevant to us. He might be within the Arena now, in which case she might have something interesting to say to us on what is happening there, as per this morning's issue."

"Knowing her she won't hesitate to start gushing about her boyfriend." Caster added.

"Alright, alright, I'll see what she has to say." He answered, rubbing his temples before stepping forward to intercept her.

As he approached her, the young Master couldn't help but notice something about the young woman before him.

"Ah, hello Mihara." Manaka said with a smile as he approached, stopping in her tracks. "I hope you've been doing well since we met yesterday."

"Hello, Manaka." He bowed his head slightly in greeting. "Yes, I've been well, thank you."

He didn't notice it before due to the high-collar design of the Tsukumihara Academy's Uniform Manaka was wearing. But with the blue, frilly dress she wore, he couldn't help but notice a strange, dark-red indent on her skin.

"That's good." She nodded, smiling again. "I have to say though, yesterday was fun, and sorry for the slight confusion."

"No, please, it was natural to see it that way." He rubbed his head sheepishly, not sure where to go from there.

The indent was like the point of a sword, just barely poking up from the collar of her shirt, its tip ending just at the base of her neck.

"It would have been nice to do something similar again later." She continued, clasping her hands behind her back. "Though, I don't think we'll have any more opportunities in the future, since Shun'll be the one winning tomorrow's battle."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" He asked, hanging his head.

"Well, do you know something that says otherwise?" She asked, tilting her head.

"No, but…" He began, trying to defend himself.

"Well, it's fine either way." Manaka continued before he could speak. "Many people will find it hard to beat him, especially in a close fight."

'As I learned to my detriment beforehand.'

"He's got a really strong Servant at his side as well." She continued. "Oh, and not to mention how good he is at collecting information."

"Wait, information gathering?" He cut in, an alarm bell ringing in his head as he remembered he wasn't the only one who was looking out for information about the enemy Servants over the past week.

"Mmm hmm." Manaka nodded. "I didn't have to do anything and he found out all about my opponent for me. Well, he didn't have to do that though. I told him I could've taken care of him myself."

"Geh, this guy's more obsessed about her than I thought he was!" Caster said. "Though, I wish a certain someone would try and take my own feelings into account as well…"

"Ah, but it's things like that that really show how much we love each other, don't you think?" She asked, her face brimming with joy as she drifted off into her own world. "Ahh, Shun, my Prince!

"I belong only to you, and you only to me, ever since the day we both came to be! I always believed you would come to find me one day, and now that you have, nobody can come between us! And once this Holy Grail War is over, not even my Father can say no!"

Mihara could only stare awkwardly as Manaka continued to fawn over her boyfriend, her feet dancing and twirling across the courtyard with hands clutched to her chest. Even the confused stares of other Masters did nothing to dampen her declaration of affection.

And as he watched her, he couldn't help but notice that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach once again.

"Oops, I seemed to have lost myself there." Manaka finally addressed the Master in front of her, having finished her little dance. "I'm sorry. Was there something you wanted to ask me?"

"Err, yeah." He stuttered, his brain trying to process what had happened. "Erm, actually I was wondering where Shun was right now."

"Oh, I see." She nodded her head in understanding. "Actually, that Shinji dragged him off to the Arena midway through our lunch together. Well, maybe that isn't exactly the case."

"What do you mean?" Mihara asked.

"Apparently Shinji hacked the Arena and got it to replace all the Item Folders' contents with Treasures." She explained. "We overheard him talking with his Servant about it a little while ago. Something about his Servant getting stronger the more she got paid."

"Ah ha, that explains a lot." Saber said, having kept silent until now.

"Well, once he realised we overheard him, his Servant started making fun of him. He got really flustered and challenged my darling to a competition to see how much Treasure the two of them could pick up from the Arena. Ahh, my Prince, you're such a wonderful person! He said he'll give me some of the things he picks up from the Arena today you know?"

"I see…" Mihara replied unwilling to add more.

"I don't really like how our time together got interrupted like that, but I guess it can't be helped." She added. "Well, I better go now. I don't want to put my Prince's hard work to waste."

"Alright, see you later Manaka, I guess…" He said, bidding her goodbye as she skipped past him, a strange silence taking her place as he watched her disappear into the Arena.

"Well, I could care less about her dismissal of the stakes within the Holy Grail War." Saber said finally. "But did you hear what she had to say about the Arena today? It appears our delicate little friend is responsible for the odd occurrences we had seen this morning."

"Ugh… Can we skip going into the Arena today?" He asked, jolted out of his stupor.

"What are you suggesting, Master?" Saber asked, her form still invisible. "Were you not paying attention to your own discussion? It is money, and by proxy, Treasure, that magnifies the power of that Pirate-lady. Sitting upon the stands just will not do, not while the enemy grows both stronger and richer before my eyes!"

"Yeah, if we just sat out now, we'd be the ones that ended up looking stupid while she powers up with all that money!" Caster said.

"That makes sense but…" The Master began, before stalling while trying to find a rebuttal.

"After all, I'd like some treasure too you know?" Caster continued before he could finish.

"The fox speaks true." Saber said. "Our own financial status will benefit greatly from this endeavour, while weakening our enemy as well. There is absolutely nothing good about leaving them alone to continue their little competition. That, and the matter that we had discussed this morning still stands, our training is of paramount necessity."

"I'll reserve comments on that unnecessary sentence at the front." Caster said. "After all, the longer we stay here the more of a head-start they'll have!"

"There's every reason to say yes and no reason to say no, huh?" He said, downcast before shaking his head. "Fine then, let's get going."

"Still though, that Manaka girl's really over the moon about her boyfriend." The foxgirl continued. "And just as much as he's obsessed with her, this girl's got a severe case of eighth-grader syndrome as well!"

"Now when did you manage to learn that term?" Mihara asked.

"She seems a teensy bit overly infatuated with him to be reasonable. She reminds me quite a bit of-" She continued, ignoring him even as her voice faltered for a moment. "Oh… That might not be a good sign. This might not turn out so well…"

"Caster?" Her Master asked, stopping momentarily. "Is something wrong?"

"…A-Ah! No no, nevermind, it's nothing Master." Caster stuttered after a few moments of silence. "Her twisted imitation of love pales in comparison to ours after all! Now, let us be on our way, for beautiful treasures await us after all!"

He pulled a wry smile at her comment before moving forward, not willing to try and probe deeper into her words at this moment. And as he approached the Arena entrance, his mind slowly cast itself back to the scenes he had witnessed between his opponent and girlfriend over the past week.

It was evident to Mihara why Shun fell for a girl like Manaka.

She was cute- no, beautiful. She was kind, considerate, and willing to do anything for his sake. Perhaps a bit overly passionate, but what young girl chest-deep in love wasn't? Truly, if a young woman in love could be as radiant as the sun, Manaka would fit the bill perfectly.

That fact only clawed at his heart even more.


Evening


"Master, watch out!"

It was only a few seconds after the Master and his Servants had entered the Arena, before a large program modelled after a large snake came charging at them. Even with Saber's warning, he had only a split second to roll out of the way.

"Tch-!" He grunted as he got back up to his knees, just as the red swordswoman decapitated the offending program. "Well, I guess that's a first."

"There appear to be a lot more of these extras than there were present the previous two days." Saber began looking around the deck, ignoring the defeated program as it dissipated into black mist.

"Huh, no kidding." Caster said, bringing out one of her charms as she too looked around the deck. "I can sense a lot of these guys peppering the ship we're on. Maybe it's got something to do with that seaweed's hacking of the Arena?"

"That would make sense, wouldn't it?" He murmured before quickly rejoining them. "Still, what do we do from here?"

And as though on cue, he began to feel his Terminal vibrate within his pocket.

Quickly pulling out the piece of electronics, he brought out his Interface only to be greeted by a familiar, and unwelcome, face.

"Mihara-!" Shinji muttered, hands clenched as he stared daggers across the screen. "What the hell are you doing here?! I thought I walled off the Arena from you yesterday!"

"Were those sigils really the best you could come up with, you stupid jellyfish?" Caster asked as she stuck her tongue out at him. "You suck at this. We aren't gonna let you just snatch up all of those Treasures for yourself now that we're here!"

"Damnit! You've been eavesdropping on me too?!" He continued shouting, just before a hand pushed down on his head.

"Heh, now now there lil' boy more competition's always good ain't it?" Rider said with a toothy grin, ruffling her Master's head.

"Shit, stop that you drunken monkey!" He tried waving her off, though his futile attempts only made her laugh as she continued. "Damnit, the first box we open up just had to be a barrel of that disgusting drink!"

Moments later, another face appeared on a new screen on the Interface, as Mihara's second opponent entered the conversation.

"Fancy seeing you here again, Mihara, though I'm guessing Shinji's challenged you as well now that you're here?"

"Let's just say my Servants would like me to cash in a bit on this event." He answered Shun with a cautious smile, just as Shinji finally beat off his wayward Servant.

"Alright, fine, so that's what motivated you to come this far then eh?" He asked, trying to regain his composure. "Fine, fine, I'll keep the extent of your greed a secret for your sake Mihara. Since you've already eavesdropped a lot, I won't bother explaining what's happened to the Arena for you."

"I'm guessing the larger number of enemy programs was also a side-effect of your hacking?" The Master couldn't help but ask as he saw another large snake swimming across the deck on the opposite side of his ship, ignoring him and his two Servants.

"More like a mistake than anything else if you'd ask me!" Shun's Servant commented over the Interface screen.

"Y-You shut up, alright Archer?!" Shinji stammered. "I-I just did that since I thought one or two of you'd end up trying to rain on my parade today, and just look at what happened!"

"If you had just kept your mouth shut the both of us probably wouldn't have realised what was here." Shun commented. "And anyway-"

"Fine then!" The blue-haired magus said over the Interface. "If you really wanted to try grabbing some Treasure you're free to try. Not like you'll have that much luck competing against me though."

"Oooh, bold words coming from such a tiny man Shinji!" Rider said, a hand to her chin as she leered at him. "But in all honesty, can someone like you really grab all that treasure first?"

"What the heck are you going on about now, Rider?" Shinji asked, his eye twitching.

"Of course you can't get it all!" She shouted. "You're nothing more than a hapless, twisted knave!"

"What the-!" Shinji snapped, momentarily lost for words before turning on his Servant. "Rider! What the hell are you doing calling me a knave?! I'm not a villain like you, damnit!"

"Of course you are!" She replied with a smirk. "If you weren't, then why the hell am I here? Though I have to say your luck is in deeper waters than a ten-ton wreck, even stealing candy from a baby would be a chore and a half for someone like you! Hell, even my luck's running ragged just following you around! Now what makes you think you're actually capable of stealing all of that delicious treasure, hmm?"

"What sort of ungrateful Servant are you?!" The blue-haired magus shouted. "Gah, fine then! Since everyone insists, I'll make sure to show you what I'm made of!" Finished replying his Servant, he then turned back to the screen.

"And I'll make sure to give the both of you such a humiliating defeat you won't dare show your faces in public anymore!"

"Hah! Seeing is believing as they say." Rider laughed at his boast.

"Well we'll see about that shortly now, won't we Archer?" Shun gave a smile before turning to look at the muscular Servant by his side.

"Okay then, since we all know where we stand let's hurry up and get back to hunting Treasure!" Shinji shouted. "And of course, don't expect me to pull any punches for you now Mihara!"

"Devious as always, Shinji!" Rider said with another grin, before snapping around and firing off a shot from her pistols.

"You heard her, Archer!" Shun said, turning to his Servant. "Let's hurry and grab as many as we can."

"Of course Brother!" Archer replied, slamming his fists together in anticipation. "Nobody will find us an easy pair to best!"

With both of the opposing teams finishing their declarations, Mihara's Interface immediately cleared up, the two screens disappearing almost immediately. Soon afterwards however, Mihara's Interface flashed once, three lines appearing in neon-blue font:

Shinji: 1

Shun: 1

Mihara: 0

"It appears that someone is keeping score." Saber noted.

Several moments after she finished, his Interface blinked once again, displaying several lines of text in the same font:

Due to Shinji's Hacking, all of the Item Folders within the Arena floor have had their contents emptied and replaced with various Treasures.

In total, there are 25 Treasures scattered around the Arena floor.

Find as many as possible before someone else does!

"Seems to be a notification from the SERAPH." Mihara said.

"This reinforces my suspicions that an NPC is watching this." Saber said, a hand on her chin. "They should have also realised how that bit-player's managed to hack the Arena so in that case, but yet again no corrective action is being taken…"

"Well we can worry about that sort of stuff later." Caster cut in. "We've got Treasure to find and those two sleazebags already have a headstart on us!"

"Indeed, we must go now." Saber nodded, her crimson blade appearing in her hand through a flurry of pixels. "Where is the nearest Item Folder, Master?"

"Should be on this deck." He answered, scrutinising his holographic map. "It's the closest one, but…"

"We should make our opening move so as not to fall behind them first." Saber interrupted. "Or perhaps you have another plan of action in mind?"

"Well, as we found out before, the Item Folders are mostly clustered in the central shipwreck, right?"

"Yep, they are!" Caster answered.

"I'm counting five Item Folders on each of the three perimeter wrecks, a total of 15, and another 10 on the central wreck." He continued, the holographic map spinning in front of him. "If we were to rush there first and collect as many as possible, then head back to this starting wreck…"

"We would deny them a good portion of Treasure." Saber finished his sentence, nodding her head as the idea ran through her mind. "That would be a sound plan, but our opponents are already well on their way with securing the Treasures on their own wreck. It is only a small matter of time before they will move on to the main performance."

"Then, would it be possible to lay diversionary traps?" Mihara asked. "Or perhaps… Set up some barriers of our own, like what Shinji did yesterday? All the three ships are connected to the central one via hidden passages, so I can try to put up a barrier of sorts to slow their movements at least."

"That is a sound plan." Saber said slowly, a hand to her chin. "However, do you believe yourself capable of doing such things?

"I found this earlier today before we left the house, while I was trying to figure out Shinji's hacking." He continued, turning back to his Interface as certain areas lit up. "It seem as though there are some natural 'switches' scattered around the Arena, which are linked up to 'gates' scattered around. And there seems to be a gate located on each Hidden Pathway."

"So if we can gain access to the switches controlling these gates…" Saber continued speaking.

"Then we'll be bringing those two shrimp's day to a grinding halt!" Caster exclaimed. "Master, you're a genius!"

"If I were that much of a genius I wouldn't have joined this War in the first place." He muttered. "Anyway, I'm thinking of activating this switch, it seems to be the one controlling the gates we're interested in."

He pointed to a highlighted point on the central wreck, the section pulsating slightly with several faint red lines branching out from it.

"This might very well work, Master." Saber said, ignoring him. "Very well, let us act upon it now. Our opponents are several precious minutes ahead. We must not let ourselves fall behind."

As she said so, the scoreboard on Mihara's Interface lit up twice in quick succession, the three numbers changing:

Shinji: 2

Shun: 2

Mihara: 0

"Yeah, better get moving." Mihara nodded, his Interface collapsing back into his Terminal as they began running towards the hidden path, the 'scoreboard' still on-screen alongside the map of the Arena.

"Heh, this is too easy." Shinji's voice played from his Terminal moments afterwards.

"Yeah, but just that one teeny box ain't going to be nearly enough." Rider replied.

"Hey! What about that box of rum we found earlier?"

"Rum's all fine and good skipper, but it still can't beat the sight of a good haul of gold glittering before my eyes!"

"Tch, aren't we the greedy one?"

"I hope you haven't forgotten about me yet Shinji." Shun's voice started coming though the Terminal. "If you don't pay attention I'll be the one taking the lead very soon!"

"Hah! I'd like to see you try shrimpy!"

"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us." Mihara shook his head at the chatter. "When we get to the main ship, let's split up. There's a number of treasures en-route to the switch I'm thinking of activating. Caster, can you go on ahead and scout the area? Saber and I will follow up behind you picking up the Treasures as we find them. Don't take too many risks, but try to thin out the number of Monsters around the area."

"Oh, don't worry about that Master; I won't let them lay even a finger on me!" She said with a smile. "Though, ehehe, knowing that you worry for my sake makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

"Try not to make me worry too much too much." He muttered. "Otherwise I'll probably end up dying of stress long before anything else."


"Okay, here's our first one." Mihara said, the Item Folder clicking open before him as the numbers on his Terminal began changing several times in quick succession.

Shinji: 3

Shun: 3

Mihara: 1

"Too slow, Mihara!" Shinji's voice came over the Terminal again.

"Cease your mindless provocations already!" Saber shouted as she pulled her sword out from an enemy program, quickly dissolving into black mist.

"Fortunately for us the Treasures on this wreck are clustered together in comparison to the other wrecks." Mihara continued, already running to the next location with Saber quickly following after him. "We should be able to close the difference fairly quickly."

"Good. Let us make haste then Master."

Leaping down a set of staircases to the main deck, the two quickly spotted the next Item Folder alongside the base of the Main Mast.

They also spotted another snake-like program rapidly swimming through the air right at them.

"He is mine." Saber said simply, running forward to meet it as Mihara ran straight for the Item Folder.

"Second one…" He muttered as it clicked open, the Terminal in his hand registering its acquisition with changing numbers.

Shinji: 3

Shun: 3

Mihara: 2

"Archer, let's not fall behind now." Shun's voice came over the Terminal now.

"Indeed, this haul of riches I will not pass up."

"Master, watch out!"

Distracted momentarily by the chatter, Mihara snapped his head around just in time to see another program coming straight down at him from above.

With instinct taking over he immediately rolled to the side, coming up onto his knees just as the enemy crashed into the wooden flooring, leaving a hole in the ground. It wasn't out of the fight yet however, quickly leaping out again before swimming straight at the Master.

Moments before it reached him however, a translucent wall immediately formed.

With the sound of breaking glass the program was stopped dead in its tracks, flinching slightly as pieces of the wall, like smashed glass, flew in every direction.

It only took it seconds to recover, the snake training its makeshift eyes at the crouched Master once again.

But those few seconds were all he needed.

Immediately the enemy program was assaulted by several explosions, forcing it back several metres as smoke filled the area.

"I don't think that was enough!" He shouted, still seeing a faint silhouette writhing, but not dissolving into the usual mist.

"It is enough!" Saber shouted, her Master seeing a flash of red rush into the smoke as her sword cleanly decapitated their opponent an instant later.

"I guess that's only to be expected." He shook his head, adrenaline still pumping through him as the smoke cleared, his Interface dissolving around him.

"Remember that these programs are more resilient than Masters would normally be." Saber replied, turning back to him. "But that is a conversation for later."

Nodding wordlessly, he took another look at his Terminal before rushing off to the next location, his Servant again following close behind.

As the two ran through an open doorway and down another flight of stairs, a sudden impulse to check his newly acquired Treasures overtook Mihara. As he did so, he noticed something odd about the most recent Treasure they had picked up.

"...Kaleido-stick?" He asked with a furrowed brow, still running to the next Item Folder.

"Is something disturbing you, Master?" Saber asked.

"It's one of the Treasures we picked up recently Saber. A 'Kaleido-stick'… What is this thing supposed to be?"

"Hrm, I have never heard of such a Treasure before certainly." She conceded. "What is the SERAPH's evaluation of it?"

"…'An Item deemed too annoying and dangerous to be used by the average Master.'" He read aloud. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It appears that not all of the things we find are worth as much as one would expect, when the word 'Treasure' is heard. Regardless, I do not know of such an item."

"Perhaps Caster might know about it?" He asked.

"Perhaps. We should remember to ask her once we meet up with her again later." Saber answered, her Master nodding in agreement.


"Right, that's the next one." Mihara muttered, his Terminal beeping in acknowledgement as the Item Folder before him clicked open.

Shinji: 4

Shun: 4

Mihara: 3

"And with this, the switch should be nearby." He continued, looking down the deck, quickly spotting Caster waving at them.

And beside her, was a small, waist-high construct with a floating, dull-grey diamond located just above it.

"Excellent, let us make haste." Saber nodded, the pair rushing forward. "Our foes are almost finished plundering their ships, and we must make sure our preparations are done before that happens."

"Caster, thanks for clearing the way." He said panting slightly as they reached her. "I hope they didn't cause you much problem?"

"Oh no, those small-fry were nothing for me to handle!" She said. "I'm just glad that you're safe, Master."

"Alright, that's good." He nodded, before looking at the switch and bringing out his Terminal. "Okay, let's see how I can activate this thing…"

"While our Master deals with this, there is something else that we had found on our way here, Caster." Saber spoke, crossing her arms as she scanned the area. "We believe you might have some insight into this, considering your suspiciously surprising amount of knowledge."

"Uuh, well, I guess that depends on what it might be." The foxgirl replied.

"Good point, thanks for reminding me, Saber." Mihara said as he gestured to a corner of his Interface, showing a picture of a red stick that could be described as a child's magic wand. "We found this item, actually."

"Uwah, what the heck is this thing supposed to be?" She asked, looking at it sceptically as lines of code criss-crossed the main screen. "'An Item deemed too annoying and dangerous to be used by the average Master.' When you look at it, it really doesn't seem all that but…"

"You have any clue as to what it might be?" He asked.

"I might." She muttered, a hand to her chin for a few moments before she gave an audible groan. "Ugh, I had a suspicion some of those might show up."

"The SERAPH usually shoves the things it wants deleted into the Arena, and at the end of the week it all gets wiped to the trash bin, you might say. Some of the more 'sensitive' stuff is locked up in a secure location until then so Masters can't accidentally find them. That seaweed's hacking probably caused some of those items to come out of the lockdown."

"Basically it's like a piece of contraband right?" He continued, his eyes still focused on his Interface screen. "Something that the SERAPH deems a threat to the Holy Grail War, or something that directly breaks one of its other rulings?"

"Yeah, that's basically it." The foxgirl nodded. "There might actually be some items that belong to other Servants throw into that virus vault too. Or things that are too dangerous to use otherwise. I suspect you'll find a handful of them along with Treasure. The NPC's might pay us quite a bit to get them back, but I wouldn't recommend opening or trying to use them without more info."

"Okay, so I guess we'll still end up getting some money for picking these up." He shrugged, several clicks emanating from his Interface. "Don't know how the NPCs will treat us, knowing that we picked these illegal items up in the first place."

"Since we currently have an observer of some sort." Saber answered. "They should already understand the situation well enough. Having said that, we should make sure we analyse all of the items we pick up before returning them. There could very well be something that we can use in the future."

"I don't really like the idea of carrying contraband with me everywhere I go, but I guess anything we can use is fair game huh?" He sighed, before his Interface gave a brief click, colouring itself in bright green as a large 'OK!' filled its screen, the diamond atop the construct now shining a bright yellow colour.

"Right, we're done here." Mihara continued as his Interface switched to a map of the Arena, three distinct, red 'walls' now obstructing the main passages. "Unfortunately I had to block of the path back to our own wreck in the process. We'll have to come back here to unlock it again later."

"That will cost us time." Saber said, looking at the map.

"Yeah, and by the time we do return, Shinji and Shun will probably have found an auxiliary switch or something like that to control their own 'gates'." He continued.

"Well, we can deal with that when we get there." Caster said, waving her hand at the screen. "We've got Treasure to find now anyway!"

"Umu, we have precious little time left to regain a lead." With a nod from the both of them, they continued their mad rush for Treasure through the wreck.


"And that's Treasure number five!" The blue-haired magus declared, the Item Folder before him clicking open as his Terminal beeped in acknowledgement. "That wipes all the Treasure off this ship into our pockets."

"Way to go there Skipper!" Rider cheered. "But that's only about as good as crossing a small creek with your tiny baby-steps boyo!"

"Sh-Shut up Rider! We've already gotten this far, the rest of the Treasures'll be a cinch to get!"

"Well you better make sure to keep up then boyo! Where's our next haul now anyway?"

"The next place we're heading to is the middle wreck." Shinji replied, whipping out his map of the Arena. "I said I'll show you what I'm made of, didn't…"

"Didn't what, Shinji?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, noting his dumbfounded look as he looked at the Arena map. Her questions however were quickly answered by his hysterical shouting moments later.

"Damnit! What the hell are you doing there, Mihara?! Why the hell are you already scooping up Treasure on the middle wreck?!"

"Ugh, looks like Shinji's found us out." Mihara's voice spoke from the Terminal.

"You're cheating aren't you?!" He continued shouting as he watched his opponent's ghostly miniature figures running around. "You aren't supposed to be there right now!"

"Cease your incessant whining already, you worthless man-child." Saber answered through the Terminal.

"Wh-Wh-What the hell did you just call me, you, you-Gah!"

"Ahahaha! And that's what you get for not paying attention Shinji! But boy does that shorty have a sharp tongue to make up for her height!" Rider said, laughing at her flustered Master. "Still, Shinji, now that they've overtaken us, what do you plan to do now, hm?"

"As if you need to ask me that Rider!" He shouted as his Interface shut down around him. "We're going to get down there and grab the rest of the Treasure, and make sure he and his stupid Servants regrets ever walking into the Arena today!"

"Ha ha! That's the spirit Shinji!" She said with a toothy grin. "No retreat, no backing down, and everything on the line, since the thrill only gets better when our backs are to the wall!"

"Who-Who says our backs are to the wall? I-I've got this all covered right, you hear me Rider?!"

"Heh, yeah yeah I hear you." She said with a grin, her pistols locked and ready. "Now, the hunt is really on! Run like your life depends on it!"

With their plan set, the Master and Servant began running through the wreck, any enemy programs they saw quickly trampled under the force of their mad rush up the decks and to the hidden path that would lead them to their next target.

Hence it took only several minutes for them to retrace their steps to the top deck, the hidden path lighting up as they stepped on it like a corridor of lights. And just as they did however, Shinji's Terminal began vibrating, a message quickly typing itself onto its screen:

Shinji: 5

Shun: 5

Mihara: 4

"Tch, they're fast…" He spat as he read off the numbers, not stopping for even a moment as his eyes remained glued to the screen.

"Then we've just gotta be faster now, don't we Shinji?" Rider asked from beside him with a grin. But before giving him time to reply, the Pirate snapped her attention forward before grabbing hold of her Master and jerking him back.

"Rider, wha-!"

Before he could finish his sentence however, he noticed the towering red gate before them.

It covered the entire length and height of the corridor, a mass of criss-crossed red wires with clear sparks of energy running across them.

"When the hell did this thing show up?!" He shouted instead.

"Well, it certainly wasn't here yesterday that's for sure." Rider replied sarcastically.

"Damnit, Mihara!" The blue-haired magus shouted into his Terminal again. "What the hell did you do here?! How the hell did you bring up such a powerful barrier?!"

"Shit, there's one on this side as well." Shun muttered, his voice emanating from the Terminal.

"Ach, looks like they've gotten to the gates we've put up already." Mihara said over the Terminal.

"This is payback for the annoyance you put us through yesterday, so good luck dismantling them you stupid blobfishes!" Caster said, before blowing a raspberry over the Terminal

"Damnit you stupid animal!" Shinji continued shouting. "I knew it, you really are cheating Mihara! Just stop right there and undo this stupid gates you damn cheater!"

"Oya oya, wasn't it you yourself who said not to pull any punches Shinji?" Rider asked.

"Hrm, if I remember correctly, Manaka said something about these gates before…" Shun said through the Terminal. "Archer, we better backtrack a bit. I think I know what we need to do…"

"See? Even your partner's taking this like a man." Rider goaded, her smirk as large as always. "Still though, I'm not happy about my Treasure being taken away from me Skipper."

"Geh-!" He fumbled for a moment before activating his Interface. "Fine, alright, I get it. Just give me a moment to figure out what the hell's up with this thing."

He bit his lip for a few moments as his fingers darted across the surface of his 'globe' Interface, line upon lines of code crossing the screen as he did so.

"There then, I've found it." He said after a few moments. "This gate's been shut from a switch inside, on the main wreck. There should be another switch on the wreck behind us that'll open the gate again."

"Bah, so we have to go back and turn the entire place inside-out to find it then?" Rider asked. "Well, I'm sort of used to turning ships inside-out I guess."

"No, we aren't going back there." The blue-haired magus said through gritted teeth.

"Oya?" His Servant asked, turning back to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Damn this piece of shit." He cursed, before his clenched fist hammered into the holographic keyboard in front of him. "I'm not going to let everyone make a fool of me again!"

"I'm better than them, you hear me Rider?!" He shouted, his fingers erupting in a flurry across the keyboard. "I'm better than everyone in this game! In any game! So keep quiet, and let me show you how the Gaming Champ does this!"

"Heh, big words coming from such a tiny man!" She said with another smirk. "Though if you can pull this stunt through then I'll say you've got bigger balls that I gave credit for."

"I told you already didn't I?" Shinji shouted as his Interface began to pulsate slowly, as did the wire gate before them. "I'm Asia's Game Champ! I won't lose when it comes to hacking, and I certainly won't lose to a nobody like that guy!"

After the flurry of clicks that drowned out most sound in the area, the blue-haired magus smashed his fist down onto the keyboard, his Interface quickly collapsing into itself to make a small, pulsating, black orb hovering over his hand.

"Now watch and learn!" He screamed, before throwing the ball at the gate before them.

And as it impacted, a great screech could be heard, as though two pieces of metal were grinding against each other with an overpowering amount of force. The wires that made up the gate quickly began pulsating in a deep crimson red, the electric sparks surging across it only becoming larger and more violent.

And in the next moment a flash of light engulfed the area, just as Rider gave a toothy grin at Shinji's handiwork.


"Treasure number five; we've finally closed that gap." Mihara muttered as the Item Folder before him clicked open, the numbers on his Terminal changing in concert.

Shinji: 5

Shun: 5

Mihara: 5

"Excellent." Saber nodded. "Now, where be the next Item Folder?"

"There's another two on the deck directly below us." He answered, looking at the map on his Terminal. "The staircase going down should be-!"

"Master? Is something wrong?" Caster asked, looking at him.

"It looks like Shinji's already opened the gate we set up earlier." He muttered, biting his lip.

"What?!" Caster asked in alarm. "How the heck did that shrimp get through so quickly?"

"It seem as though he brute-forced them open." He answered, bringing up his Interface to take a closer look. "He infected the gate system with a small virus that caused a feedback loop. It completely fried the control system for the Gates."

"And that's exactly what a Game Champ's capable of, you damn cheater!" Shinji shouted over the Terminal, evidently hearing their conversation. "Now I'm going to make sure I grab all that Treasure and leave you biting the dust!"

"Geh!" Caster spat, ignoring their opponent. "That little brat's got some skills then, I'll give him that. The security for the gates isn't as high as some other programs I remember, but it still takes some pretty good skill to do that."

"As a result though, all the gates are down now, including the one back to our starting wreck." He continued, looking for a way to shut down his Terminal's transmissions. "It won't take too long for the both of them to come find us here on this ship."

"Then we have the option of engaging them here and now." Saber said, a hand on her hips.

"I'd be more than willing to give the two of them a good smacking." Caster said in agreement, ramming her fists together.

"Unfortunately I myself am not that keen." He replied, shaking his head. "The fight's supposed to be tomorrow; I don't want any of us to get injured just before the real fight after all."

"Ugh, I guess that's true…" Caster said somewhat reluctantly.

"In that case, we should make haste and return to our own ship." Saber answered. "There are a total of 25 Treasures to be had in the Arena right now, and 15 have already been acquired by the various participants, leaving only a remainder of 10."

"We know that five of them are scattered on this ship." She continued speaking after a pause, tapping her foot on the deck for emphasis. "And we know another five are on our starting ship. If we were to acquire those five, it leaves the five on this ship for our competitors to fight amongst themselves for; and it is unlikely they will leave it as tribute to one or the other."

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly Saber." Mihara nodded.

"Though, I cannot guarantee that that bit-player will leave us be." Saber added. "He may choose to chase us directly, or attempt to grab the remaining Treasures scattered on this ship instead."

"I guess that's a risk we'll have to take." He said after a sigh. "I'd rather not fight right now since the Coliseum Battle is tomorrow, but if it comes down to that, then, well, there's nothing we can do about it."

"As long as you are prepared." Saber said, nodding.

"Okay, now that all the planning's done and over with, let's hop to it!" Caster cut in. "We'll need to move quickly so that those two sleazebags don't steal a march on us anymore."


Fortunately for the Master and his two Servants, Shinji and his partner decided to try and grab the remaining Treasures on the central ship, apparently not willing to rush against him for the remaining five Treasures.

Hence their run through the starting ship went uninterrupted, apart from the violent arguments and shouting that emanated from Mihara's Terminal.

That, and Shinji's name-calling as he and his partner falls behind in score.

"Mihara! Stop where you are already you damn cheater!" Shinji's voice shouted from the Terminal as another Item Folder clicked open before the Master and his two Servants.

"And that's another one…" He muttered, ignoring Shinji's shouts now as the lines on his Terminal screen updated themselves.

Mihara: 9

Shinji: 8

Shun: 7

"Only one more remains on this ship." Saber said, nodding in satisfaction as the three began moving to the next Treasure. "That bit-player is even more of a fool than I gave him credit for."

"Yeah, but his ability to overload some of the systems shouldn't be underestimated." Caster said. "Well, by the end of this week his skills won't mean anything anyway, after we grind that piratits into the dust."

"Pira- what?" He asked, confused.

"Oh, don't mind me Master." Caster said with a smile. "Just a nickname I made up for her."

"…Okay, right." He said after a pause. "Anyway, we still have the last Treasure to pick up now. Then we should probably head home before Shinji and Shun catches up to us."

"I'm more than willing to give them a good smackdown you know?" Caster repeated.

"And again, I'm less than willing." He replied sarcastically.

"Indeed." Saber concurred. "We must conserve our strength for now, as we will need it come tomorrow. Flailing and flaunting our strength to them now will only expose ourselves to more inconveniences and give them the chance to learn more information about us."

"Mu, that's true I guess." Caster said. "Well, I guess we've learned all there is about them now though, right Mihara?"

"Yeah, that's true." He said, stopping at a doorway. "I should be able to piece together their True Name with the information I have for tomorrow's fight."

The trio proceeded slowly into the room, still wary of other Programs that could assault them even at this last moment.

Fortunately however, there were none to be found. The only thing that could be found in this room was a single Item Folder, amidst the remains of empty crates.

"In any case, let's grab the last one and get out of here quickly, before Shinji manages to find us." Mihara said, stepping forward as his two Servants stood guard.

"Mihara!" Shinji's voice shouted from his Terminal again, evidently keeping a good eye on their movements. "Don't you dare touch that Treasure chest you cheating bastard! You hear me?!"

As he reached out to touch the Item Folder, he felt a slight burning sensation course across his outstretched hand.

Pausing momentarily, he noticed the burning sensation appeared to be centred around the Command Seals on his hand.

But knowing that his opponents were very close by he forced himself to ignore the strange pain, reaching out to touch the Item Folder as it clicked open. And by his side he felt his Terminal beep in acknowledgement.

"Excellent, our task today is done." Saber nodded in approval.

"Yeeeah, but that's more than enough running around for me now." Caster moaned, stretching. "Let's hurry up and return back to our love nest, Master!"

"And when the heck did our house turn into that?" He asked, before shaking his head. "Actually, nevermind. Let's just get out of here before Shinji finds us."

'Though, what was that strange burning sensation I had just now? I'd better remember to check out the all the Treasures we managed to collect today…'


All Treasures within the Arena have been claimed.

Final score results are as follows.

Mihara: 10

Shinji: 8

Shun: 7

"Damn, stupid Priest." The NPC cursed as she watched the array of holographic screens arrayed before her. "Idiotic, meddling, bastard, retarded, annoying, bloody, good-for-nothing Priest! What the hell does that guy think he was doing, telling me to leave that hack there?! Didn't he know those holes would've definitely opened up Item Quarantine?!"

"Gee, Arina, you really can curse like a pirate can't you?" Another NPC commented. "Kind of reminds me of the time when we were still alive."

"Suzuha!" The first NPC snapped. "How many times do I have to tell you not to bring up my past all the time huh?"

"Whaaat?" Suzuha asked, pouting. "But you were really cool back then, along with all your gang-friends as well!"

"Damnit, that part of my life was really, really embarrassing you know?!" Arina began rubbing her temples as those memories surfaced. "Just thinking about all the trouble I got into back then makes me cringe."

"And so ends the career of Tsukumihara Academy's 'Iron-Clawed Yankee' Arina Ikuya." Suzuha continued, pointedly looking away.

"Damnit, which mouth is it that's spouting off all this nonsense now huh?" Arina muttered through gritted teeth, standing up and taking several steps towards her sister. "Is it this one huh? Huh?!"

She lunged forward, grabbing her cheeks and pulling them vigorously as Suzuha began flailing around, incoherent gibberish flowing from her forcibly opened mouth.

"We didn't even attend this school in our life you stupid girl!" She continued through gritted teeth, her sister unable to escape. "Now you either focus on the job here and now, or your cheeks'll be coming off!"

"Yesh- Yesh! I handershtand, I handershtand! I hwon't do it hanymore!" Suzuha managed to say, her sister subsequently letting go.

"Owww…" She moaned afterwards, rubbing her reddening cheeks. "That really hurt you know, sis? You know I'm weak against cheek attacks."

"Well the one who brought it upon yourself was none other than you." Arina answered, crossing her arms as she turned back to the screens arrayed in front of her. "Come on now, we've got our own work to do here."

"Yeees." Suzuha replied energetically. "Still though, what are we going to do about those Illegal Items that that blue-head pulled out of Quarantine? Since they're in the possession of Masters, we aren't allowed to forcibly take them away now. There's even some Servant Noble Phantasms that got pulled out I think. Well, in terms of fighting capability they're completely useless though."

"Yeah, but if it really were about pure combat capability the SERAPH wouldn't have judged them to be Illegal." Arina said, a hand to her chin. "The problem there is that they run completely opposite to the rules of the Holy Grail War. Or at the very least, make it drop-dead easy to game the system."

"You mean the bit about 'Lose your Servant, lose your Command Seals, lose your Life', right?" Suzuha asked.

"Exactly." Arina said, grinding her teeth as the two descended into silence.

"Dammit all, this problem wouldn't have happened if the SERAPH didn't let that stupid Witch get summoned in this War!" Arina screamed suddenly, punching one of the screens in front of her which subsequently shattered into glass. "Argh! How the hell did it let her through with that stupid Noble Phantasm anyway, huh?!"

The two NPC's paid scant attention as the screen quickly reformed itself, like a tape on rewind.

"It's times like this where I can't help but draw parallels back to your old days." Suzuha muttered.

"Did you say something?" Arina asked, turning her head slowly to look at her sister who began shaking her head vigorously.

"Bah, no matter what I say to the SERAPH, it keeps ignoring me for some reason." She continued her tirade, throwing up her arms as she ignored her sister. "It's like there's something diverting all my notifications to the bin every time I send them! Even that stupid Priest just ignores everything I say!"

"We really do have to do something about this sometime soon huh sis?" Suzuha asked. "And not to mention the complete absence of Maintenance NPCs to boot."

"I know the SERAPH is planning a day of downtime for everyone at the end of this week." Arina said, biting her nails. "Supposed to give the Masters some time to get their bearings after their first killing. Hopefully that downtime will be enough for my message to get through."

"Or find the exact cause of what the hell's letting all this crazy stuff happen."


Night


Caster hummed to herself as she knelt at the kotatsu in her room, her tail wagging slowly behind her.

Her dear Master would soon come for a late-night visit. And as soon as he did, the two would engage in a warm embrace and a passionate kiss.

With only the silver light of the moon illuminating their room, he would gently push her down onto the futon, his tongue slowly tasting every nook and cranny of her body as his hands slowly removed her robes to reveal her porcelain-white skin…

And then, and then-

"Juuust kidding." She moaned, pulling herself out of the fantasy as her tail drooped to the floor. "Still have to remember what rating we're operating at. Though, honestly, I wish he'd take more initiative as a man, but I guess even with a foxy maiden like me before him, he needs a bit of 'encouragement'."

"Hrm, on that note what sorts of 'encouragement' can I use in the future I wonder…" She continued, looking out to the garden, and the night sky above. "Or perhaps I should just push him down and have my way…?"

"Oh, no no no! I can't do that sort of thing!" She shook her head vigorously, lightly slapping her cheeks. "Silly fox, a maiden can't just go and do that! And committing a crime after getting so far is just horrible!

"Well, having said that I'm jealous of that Manaka girl." She continued after a brief pause, remembering what she had witnessed of the Master and her Lover. "Aah, I wish I could be in a relationship like that. But my Master's too dense to realise anything of the sort."

And on top of that, the foxgirl realised that something was a little bit off about that woman. Sure it was natural for a girl to be infatuated with her 'darling prince'; she herself had been in that position many times. But, Manaka's infatuation seemed as though it was something else…

Before she could think any further however, a knock sounded on her door.

"Caster? Are you free now?"

"Ah! Y-yes, goshujin-sama, the door's open for you." She stuttered, her thoughts snapping back to the present. "Please, come in."

"It's still extremely embarrassing to hear you call me that." Mihara said with a wry smile as the doors to Caster's room slid open.

"Well, old habits are hard to break for me." Caster replied, shifting her position slightly to make space next to her. "I'm sure you don't mind humouring me though, at least in private. And over time I'm sure you'll get used to it as well, my dear Master! Oh, please, have a seat as well."

"While I'd like to, I also promised Saber that I'd install this program for her too, so I'm afraid I have to decline." He replied with a wry smile as he closed the door behind him.

"Oh, boo." She said with a pout. "Well, perhaps you'd like to go and install it in her room first. So that, you know, we could spend the entiiire night together-"

"Again, I'm afraid I have to decline." He answered curtly, not giving her a chance to continue.

"Oh, boo." She repeated, again with a pout. "One would think you have a phobia of women at this rate, goshujin-sama."

"A-anyway, I still have to go over to Saber's room after this, so let's try and finish this off now." Mihara stuttered, changing the topic as he brought out his Terminal, his Interface bathing the room in a white glow.

Deciding to concede defeat for now, the foxgirl stood up and walked over to her Master's side as another list of furniture appeared on the screen.

"I had a quick look at the contents of this new chip that Ms. Fujimura gave us today." He said as she approached. "It looks like today's rewards are lamps."

"Ooh, that'd be useful." Caster said. "Well, for the past few nights I've had to survive with only the moonlight for this dark room. Not like the moonlight itself isn't strong, us being within the moon itself and all."

"A bit of a paradox huh?" He asked with a wry smile. "Anyway, which of these designs would you like?"

"Hmm…" The foxgirl murmured, leaning forward to have a look at the designs before her delicate fingers tapped on one of the images.

And on cue, a column of pixels silently erupted at four corners of the room as well as atop the kotatsu in the room's centre.

With each column emitting their own light, Master and Servant kept their eyes glued to a corner of the room as the columns slowly solidified. Their width began to shrink, as did their height.

Slowly but surely, the form of a small, rectangular box appeared at each corner of the room. Like a receding sun, the bright light from each of the five 'pillars' slowly dimmed to a soft, warm glow.

And after several more moments, what were once pillars of light were now little more than small paper lamps. Dark redwood supports and opaque rice paper concealed a gently flickering flame, as the once pure-white room was now bathed in the gentle, soft glow of dimmed candle light.

"Ahh, this is perfect!" Caster exclaimed with glee. "With every new item this starts feeling more and more like home."

"Well, it's good that you like it." Mihara replied, looking around the room with a small smile, his Interface collapsing to his Terminal before him. "Yeah, this really does look like a traditional Japanese room now. Very thematic actually."

"Ehehe, I knew you'd take a liking to it Master!" She said with glee, before wrapping an arm around his own.

"Now, don't you feel this atmosphere's just right?" She asked, gently putting her weight on him. "Just perfect for the two of us to spend the night together, tangled in each other's embraces?"

He couldn't help but take a deep breath, his eyes clenched shut in an attempt to stave off the heat from reaching the rest of his face.

"Sorry Caster, but as I said before I have to decline." He finally said, in as calm a voice as he could muster. "I still haven't taken care of the dishes yet. And I still need to take stock of what we picked up from the Arena today. And I can't forget about using this in Saber's room as well."

With each halting sentence he slowly pried his arm free of hers, hoping that with each movement his Servant wouldn't rebound and press the attack.

"Oh boo." She said finally, letting go of her own accord. "Alright, alright. Well, I guess if I tire you out too much tonight you wouldn't be able to perform well tomorrow."

"Thank you for your understanding." He said with an audible sigh of relief. "Well then, goodnight Caster. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, my dear Master." She replied with a smile. "Don't worry about the two sleazebags we're fighting tomorrow, I'll make sure to grind them to paste long before they even lay a hand on you!"

He gave her a tired smile at her words of support, before sliding the door behind him shut.

"Hrm, he's proving a really hard nut to crack." Caster finally muttered, before a sly smile crossed her lips.

"Well, as they say, 'you can only live so long with a woman without getting too… intimate with them.'" Caster then sighed wistfully. "Though, that depends on if we survive past tomorrow."


Saber sat quietly upon her ornate couch, her legs crossed and eyes closed as she thought.

With the ample amount of free time she had been given over the past few days, she had had plenty of time to think up of a design to adorn the walls of her abode. Though she had yet to actually put pen to paper so to speak, she questioned whether she would actually have time to complete her masterpiece.

"After all, the final performance of the week is set for tomorrow." She said. "I would be loath to leave a piece such as this unfinished. Perchance, should fate be in our favour tomorrow, I will be able to begin my work." Saber scoffed. "Well, I doubt otherwise, for if it boils down to it I myself will pull them to victory whether they like it or not."

Slowly she opened her eyes, looking towards the empty concrete walls as she waited for her Master to arrive.

He had promised to set up the new furniture they had acquired today from the NPC known as Taiga Fujimura. A strange woman by Saber's standards, but having seen the sort of gifts she had bestowed upon them, the crimson swordswoman found it difficult to dislike her.

"Hrm, indeed. Come next week, I should look at finding some charcoal to begin my preliminary sketches." She muttered as she imprinted the design in her mind onto the wall. "I will make sure to create a piece that would rival the giant halls of the Emperor's Palace. When I am done, I am certain my Master will be proud to live in such a small house."

And just as she finished speaking, a knock on the door coupled with a familiar voice heralded the arrival of the one she was waiting for.

"Saber, are you free right now?" Mihara asked.

"Umu, the door is unlocked." She replied. "You can enter, Praetor."

"Hrm, I've noticed you've gone back to calling me that title a little bit more frequently now." He said as he entered, the oaken doors closing behind him.

"Indeed, you are correct." She replied, crossing her arms in acknowledgement. "For my reasoning, I have noticed that that Caster has returned to calling you by the previous title she had thought up at the start of this week."

"Ugh, so you've noticed too, huh?"

"Even though it may only be in private," Saber continued. "For some reason I find myself feeling more and more uncomfortable, knowing that she is allowed to address you by such a personalised title, and I am not."

"Well, we came to some sort of agreement just yesterday." He began, scratching his head uncomfortably. "Well, either way I guess after the past week living with both you and Caster, I'm getting more used to things. Though, I'm still afraid of what would happen should our opponent get wind of it."

"Fear not then, Praetor." She replied with her characteristic smile. "I will endeavour to refer to you as such in private only, away from prying ears and eyes."

"In that case, feel free to do so Saber." He nodded in acceptance. "Though, now to the matter at hand…"

"Indeed, I am eager to see what sort of goods that Taiga Fujimura has given us today for our services."

"I've already had a quick look through in Caster's room." He answered, bringing out his Terminal and activating his Interface. "The items all seem to be lamps of different design."

"A light emitting device?" Saber asked. Seeing her Master nod in confirmation, she stood up and stepped closer as she continued speaking.

"Excellent, I find having to survive on only the light of the moon quite strenuous on my eyes. If I were to engage in any of my passions in the arts, I will certainly need a stronger source of light."

"I'm pretty sure we can find something to suit your needs in the list." He replied, the images showing up one by one. "Well, pick any that you like, and we'll see how it looks overall."

With a hand on her hips, the crimson swordswoman stood next to her Master, her eyes scanning the images one by one as her elegant fingers slid across the screen. And finally, a particular design caught her eye.

Wasting no time she selected it, and immediately several pillars of pixels appeared within the room, connecting roof to floor as white light blurred the room's features.

There were three of these pillars, arranged in an equidistant triangular formation around the centre of the room. Each pillar a good metre or two in diameter, Master and Servant watched patiently as the pillars slowly shrunk, the connection to the floor severed as the pillars raised themselves upwards.

A couple of minutes later, the three stumps had solidified into brilliant, golden chandeliers that bathed the entire room in a bright golden glow, as though permanently enjoying the brilliance of the rising sun.

And the shining marble of the mosaic below their feet only lent credence to this brilliance.

"Umu, this is perfect." Saber nodded in satisfaction, stepping forward arms outstretched. "It is only fitting for one such as I to live in such quarters."

"Well, you still need to take care of those walls though." Mihara muttered, looking directly at the bare concrete.

"Patience, Master." She replied, turning to him with a hand on her hips. "In due course, I will endeavour to bring everything up to a quality that will astound even you."

"Well, I guess I'll look forward to it." He answered, evidently unwilling to commit himself.

"Hmph, you will see in due time." She replied, crossing her arms and returning to her couch. "But for the here and now, we have matters that we must discuss, at least briefly before we retire.

"Tomorrow is the Coliseum battle." She continued, looking at her Master as he returned her gaze. "After the past week, I believe us more than capable of matching those two extras on any playing field, or any stage. Our due diligence over the days will reward us tomorrow, I am certain."

"Well I guess at least one of us is certain." Mihara shrugged half-heartedly.

"Do not be so pessimistic, Praetor." She replied with a smile. "We have bested them today, and we have drawn their blood before. Repeating these achievements will be simple against mere Tirones such as they.

"Speaking of which, I would ask that you look at the items we had acquired today. And, though our funds are pitifully low I am certain, I would not recommend selling every piece back to the SERAPH's NPCs immediately."

"Yeah, I know Saber." He nodded. "Some of them might have value beyond mere 'selling price'. When the fight… tomorrow, is over, I'll do a bit more research on them. Hopefully I can decide what we can sell and what we can't."

"Umu, it is good to know that you are becoming more and more aware of the intricacies of this War." Saber said with a smile. "In that case, I believe I should bid you goodnight, our grand performance with that Pirate and Barbarian begins tomorrow. For me, everything must be perfect. And perfection is impossible if one is not well-rested enough."

"I guess you're right." Mihara said with a wry smile. "Well, goodnight Saber, see you tomorrow."

"As to you, Praetor." Saber replied, her illuminated smile being Mihara's last image before he shut the wooden doors behind him.


"Again, we made it out alive for another day." He sighed as he played the day's events back in his head.

He stood at the kitchen sink, gently wiping the dishes that he had just washed after having set up his Servant's rooms.

'They really are impatient about that huh?' He thought with a wry smile. 'Pushing me to install those new lamps as quickly as possible like they did. Well, not that I can blame them. They only have so many hours to enjoy their new furniture…'

With his hands on autopilot, his eyes drifted slowly towards the window of his Private Residence, the Digital Sky towering overhead alongside the Moon. And as he watched, he slowly remembered how many times he had stared at the same scene. How many hours he had spent awake, how many days he had spent practicing for what will happen tomorrow.

For tomorrow, someone will die.

'Can I really survive tomorrow?' He thought. 'We've managed to evade Shinji and Shun for today but I can't avoid tomorrow's Coliseum fight. Are our preparations enough? Am I prepared to kill people now? Someone's beloved, and a renowned gaming champion... Both of them have a slew of memories and experiences to live by, yet I myself have nothing.'

"Can I really kill them tomorrow?" He murmured as he turned back to his washing. "For that matter, do I have the right to kill them? To smash their hopes and dreams of the future to bits, to grind their past efforts, their trials and lives to dust when I myself have nothing? How sinful can I be to do that?

"The fact that none of my opponents viewed this Holy Grail War, as a real War, just makes this more difficult for me, huh? I guess the easy way out would be to just lie down and let them take my head without a fight tomorrow. But…" His voice petered out into silence, his eyes holding back barely formed tears, his body frozen as he remembered the events of a week ago...

-A week ago? It seemed like it was just yesterday.

6 days ago, he remembered being impaled by that effigy in that enclosed space.

6 days ago, he remembered lying flat in a pool of his own blood.

6 days ago, he remembered how he almost became a corpse.

6 days ago, he remembered how he met them.

"I'm not the only one that depends on my existence." A soft clink of plates being lined up to dry echoed alongside his words.

"That's right, isn't it?" He continued, motionless. "Saber, and Caster, they only exist because I'm here. They chose to make a contract with me in my final, dying moments." Clenching both his hands, he turned his hands around so that he could see his two Command Seals, emblazoned onto the back of his hands like a brand.

"To throw away their trust, and their contract with me just like that, would be just as sinful."

He couldn't help but stand and stare at his hands. His washing done with, it was as though he hoped something would give him an answer.

And after several minutes of silence, when no answer was forthcoming, all he could do was close his eyes, and sigh.

"What sort of sin will I commit tomorrow?"


A/N

I knew those monthly updates were too good to be true. I had to take an extra month break before this chapter came out because of work, but thank you very much for bearing with me. Will see what happens next month.
Anyway, new Chapter, and Shinji's meddling/supposed 'skill' has more of a purpose this time around. Won't be seeing any magical girls here though, but something else will make an appearance later.
Well, in other matters only one more day to go before the first week finishes! I hope Hakuno's moral quandary has been portrayed well-enough now for the finale to have a full-powered punch. Hopefully everything won't fall flat on its face at the crux moment because of my inability.

03/03/2014